Lulu, the Rhino Who Conquered Apple TV+
Apple TV+ surprises us with Lulu, the Rhino, a 2D animated special that premieres on May 30. 🎬 Based on the beloved children's book by Jason and Allison Flom, this story follows Lulu, a little rhino who wants to prove that being different is no obstacle to spreading kindness. Directed by Kris Pearn and with original compositions by Leland, every frame becomes a colorful and catchy stage.
Volleyball and Identity
In an exclusive clip, Lulu joins a volleyball game and discovers that her teammates judge her for not fitting the classic rhino image. 🏐 You don't have horns, one says. You don't even play in the mud, adds another. Lulu tries to explain who she is, but every serve ends in questions and incredulous looks. The scene, simple in appearance, addresses the universal theme of stereotypes with humor and music, teaching that true identity is not measured by external traits, but by the actions we choose.
Voices and Digital Brushes
The voice cast is a mix of Broadway and Hollywood talent. Auli’i Cravalho, Alex Newell, Dulé Hill, Paul Rust, and Utkarsh Ambudkar bring to life characters who sing, joke, and learn alongside Lulu. The production is handled by Propagate Content and Bento Box Animation, who use Harmony for frame-by-frame animation and finalize the composition in After Effects. The score, created by Jina Hyojin An and Shirley Song, dresses each number with delicate orchestral arrangements. 🎵
Although the series is born in 2D, the artists use Blender to model reference maquettes and test lighting before passing them to Toon Boom. In forums, several users replicate Lulu in digital sculpting, upload PBR color profiles, and discuss how to achieve that clean stroke in Eevee without losing the traditional drawing feel. It's a reminder that in current animation, 3D tools are useful even when the final finish is flat. 🎨
Final Irony
In the end, the special teaches that you don't need horns to be a rhino, just as you don't need to use a specific program to tell a good story. Of course, if you ask in any software thread, there will always be someone defending their favorite tool… until a child comes along, watches the series on TV, and just asks: When do we play volleyball? 😂
Because, at the end of the day, what really matters is the story and the fun, not the tools we use to create it. Right?